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Inspector General during the year of absence (Peking
telegram to Foreign Office No.273 of the 9th February).
66. Action on these lines was taken and on the
11th February Sir F. Aglen formally made over charge
of the Inspectorate General of Customs to Mr. Edwardes
who accepted the charge as officiating Inspector
General. But on the previous day Sir F. Aglen had
received a telegram from the Commissioner of Customs
at Hankow reporting conversations with Comrade Ch'en
in which the latter had said that the disappearance
of Sir F. Aglen would create an entirely new situa– tion; that the Southerners had accepted things as
they stood as a fait accommli; but that if Sir F.
Aglen left, the situation was fundamentally changed
and the Canton Government would decide its attitude.
from a fresh point of view. On receiving this in-
formation Sir M. Lampson again had recourse to Dr. Wang Ch'ung-hui, who stands very close to the South as well as to North, and asked whether he could not have the face-saving device so explained to the Southerners at Hankow as to avert the danger of disruption of the Customs by showing that no new
appointment of Inspector General would be made for at least a year. Dr. Tang agreed to do this (Peking telegram to Foreign Office No. 276 of 10th February). Sir F. Aglen also made an appeal to the South through the Commissioner of Customs at Hankow. Never- theless there were strong indications that the Southerners would not recognize the appointment of
Mr.
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